Gohan held the two weapons for a moment longer, the hum of divine metal a quiet song in the stillness. Then, with a respectful nod, he offered Mjolnir back to Thor, handle-first. The hammer settled into the Thunder God's grasp with a familiar weight, but the air around it still crackled with the lingering presence of the Z-Sword.
Thor accepted it, his brow furrowed in thought. "Power without restraint is destruction," he repeated, the words feeling foreign yet fundamentally true on his tongue. He looked from his hammer to Gohan's serene face. "A lesson my father tried to teach me for centuries. It took losing my power to mortals to even begin to understand it."
A flicker of genuine interest crossed Gohan's features. "You lost your power?"
"Cast out. Stripped of my godhood and my worthiness," Thor clarified, his voice a low rumble. "It was... a necessary humbling."
Gohan gave a slow, understanding nod. "The best teachers are often the most unforgiving. My own path was paved with similar lessons." His gaze drifted to the Z-Sword in his other hand before it vanished in a wink of light, dismissed back to wherever Vermont kept it. "It is why I no longer rely on tools that judge me. I had to learn to judge myself."
The Cube gave another soft lurch, its trajectory shifting as it began its cut through the dimensional layers. The star-streaked void outside the viewport blurred into streaks of impossible color.
Vermont adjusted his grip on the staff. "And yet, judgment finds even those who forsake it," he murmured, tone as even as ever. "Would you not agree, my Lord?"
Gohan's eyes didn't move from the kaleidoscopic expanse outside. "It does," he admitted quietly. "But judgment is only half the lesson. The other half is mercy." His reflection on the glass flickered faintly, the violet hue of his aura softening to a gentle glow. "To understand power, you have to know when not to use it."
For a moment, no one spoke. Even Tony, who usually couldn't resist breaking tension, simply crossed his arms and leaned back, studying Gohan with an intensity.
"So, what happens," Natasha said finally, voice cool but probing, "when mercy fails? When restraint isn't enough?"
Gohan turned slightly, the faintest smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. "Then restraint becomes courage." His tone carried no arrogance—only quiet conviction. "Because if you have the strength to end something and choose not to, you've already won the greater battle."
Thor's voice broke the silence, quieter than before. "Although that doesn't mean ending things is always wrong."
Gohan smiled and nodded. Vermont's lips curved faintly, almost imperceptibly.
Thor ran his thumb along Mjolnir's runes. "Spoken like one who has known both victory and ruin."
"I have," Gohan said simply.
The Cube's hum deepened, a low vibration that resonated in the bones. Faint streaks of lightning rippled across its surface, reacting to the energies outside.
Tony finally exhaled, a small smirk flickering at the edge of his mouth. "You know," he said, voice low and steady, "there was a time I'd try to spin what you just said into some clever metaphor—energy output, feedback loops, moral circuits… whatever made it sound like I had it all figured out."
He shook his head, eyes fixed on the shifting light beyond the glass. "But I think I get it now. Power's not about control. It's about what you choose not to do with it."
The words hung there—part admission, part revelation.
He glanced at Gohan, expression softening. "We had a mission. Thought we were fixing things. But if you and Vermont hadn't shown up…" He gave a faint, almost weary laugh. "We'd still be spinning in circles, frozen in our own little time loop. And if you found us, odds are that Phantom Sovereign could've too."
Gohan regarded him quietly for a moment, something like respect flickering behind his eyes. "You've learned a truth most gods never grasp," he said softly.
"To see power for what it isn't—that takes wisdom." Vermont finished.
Gohan paused, the faintest smile touching his lips. "I don't mind questions. They're how mortals reach the divine."
Vermont inclined his head slightly, as though to mark the statement.
Natasha's gaze softened just enough to let the curiosity through. "And what about the divine? How do they reach back?"
Gohan paused. "By remembering what it means to be mortal," he said at last. "That's something I intend never to forget."
The rest of the journey back passed in silence — not the cold, uneasy kind, but something closer to reverence. The Avengers, hardened veterans of cosmic battles, had seen gods, titans, and monsters before... but never anything quite like this. Not like them.
Gohan had taken the time to learn everyone's name—especially Thor and Tony—and in that small gesture, they sensed something rare.
The Cube drifted to a stop, its hum fading to a calm, almost meditative rhythm. Gohan lifted his hand, and the very fabric of space folded away. The Sixth Dimension peeled open like glass under heat, its impossible colors parting to reveal an ocean of darkness beyond.
Rhodey leaned forward, brow furrowed. "We're back on the outside?"
Gohan nodded once, the gesture serene but purposeful. "This is currently my home — the Twenty-First Universe, and now yours."
Ahead, a fractured sphere floated in the void, its surface scarred and webbed with deep glowing fissures. It looked wounded — like reality itself had taken a mortal blow.
"It looks so small," Steve murmured, his soldier's instincts caught somewhere between wonder and unease. Yet even as he said it, the marble swelled, expanding until its sheer immensity pressed against his mind like gravity itself.
"Don't worry," Gohan said gently, catching the flicker of fear in their eyes. "We're still approaching. Vermont's speed makes distance behave differently here — it only seems to grow."
Hawkeye whistled low, his usual sarcasm failing him for once. "That… that's a whole universe?" He blinked and turned, looking for something human to anchor his thoughts. "So, uh — how far were we?"
Vermont didn't miss a beat. "Farther than your minds were ever meant to conceive." His tone was calm, but not unkind. "It would take me six months to reach it at full speed, without using the Sixth Dimension. For mortals… it is eternity."
The Cube halted again, space itself sighing as if relieved. A doorway shimmered into existence, its threshold rippling with divine energy. Beyond it, a pink sky stretched endlessly over a colossal tree — one so vast its roots cradled an entire citadel, and its leaves sparkled with starlight.
"This," Vermont said, "is the Planet of the God of Destruction. It exists beyond the physical plane — yet within the greater framework of the Twenty-First Universe. Like Heaven… or Hell… but far less forgiving."
Before anyone could ask, the ground shuddered.
A thunderous shockwave tore through the landscape. Vermont reacted instantly, slamming the base of his staff into the air and forming a translucent barrier around the Avengers. The world outside their shell erupted into chaos.
A figure appeared mid-air — a woman with black hair and piercing blue eyes. Diana. For an instant she seemed relieved to see familiar faces — before something unseen sliced straight through her. The image flickered, the body gone.
She reappeared a few feet away, panting, blocking another blow from an invisible foe.
Then that foe manifested: a tall woman with pale bluish-green skin, muscle-lined and expressionless, her back marked with glowing sigils that read, Destroyer Candidate.
The two moved so fast they seemed almost still, their limbs a blur of motion. Intricate exchanges occurred within fractions of a second — the sound of their strikes producing a terrifying whistle. Static energy charged the air, growing hotter until it vibrated like the atmosphere around a blazing bonfire.
A group of onlookers could be seen far above the battlefield. Vermont tapped his staff again, and the Avengers vanished from sight to avoid getting caught in the crossfire.
Diana leaned toward Strix, who leaned back and struck her wrist with a chop. Diana winced but smirked — her fingers were already aimed at Strix's head. The warrior's eyes widened as Diana's fingertips began to glow.
In an instant, five jetstream ki bullets fired. Strix tilted her head at the last moment, but one beam pierced her ear. She clenched her jaw and countered, slamming her left fist into Diana's gut and winding the Amazon.
Strix vanished in a snap, reappearing with her hand around Diana's neck, trapping her as she raised her arm — a ki blade forming in her grasp.
Gohan's eyes widened. Vermont merely raised an eyebrow.
Gritting her teeth, Diana tore off one of her bracelets. The surge of divine energy blew Strix back. Diana's eyes rolled white as she clenched her fists and jaw so tightly that blood ran down her hands.
Instantly, she capitalized on Strix's momentary weakness — though even she could barely keep herself from losing control.